Nunavut gold mine project gets go-ahead for site upgrades

North Country Gold Corp., which is running an “aggressive exploration” program in the eastern Kitikmeot region, has received all the land and quarry leases, permits and licenses it needs for upgrades to its exploration camp and infrastructure. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NCG)

Another Nunavut gold mine project is steam-rolling ahead, with a $25 million exploration and construction program, still underway, in 2011.

North Country Gold Corp. said this week that it had obtained all the land and quarry leases, permits and licenses necessary from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the Nunavut Water Board, and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association “to significantly advance the exploration program.”

The company plans to start upgrades to its Hayes Camp and airstrip, and to construct a 10-kilometre all weather road from Hayes Camp to its Three Bluffs deposit, located in the gold-rich Committee Bay greenstone belt, about 300 km north of Baker Lake.

“We are very pleased with the prompt issuance of the permits and licenses from the Government of Nunavut, INAC and the Kit.I.A.,” said John Williamson, the company’s president and chief executive officer in a Sept. 14 news release. “With the continued strong support, NCG looks forward to progressing the Three Bluffs Deposit towards development and providing opportunities to local communities.“

North Country Gold will now move ahead with its plans to increase the capacity of Hayes Camp up to 100 people.

Camp upgrades will also include building a new work area (shop, office and core processing facilities, as well as core and fuel storage), new dormitory facilities, a commercial kitchen and washrooms, a new incinerator, waste water treatment system and generators.

Upgrades to the airstrip will allow larger aircraft to land and supply the program in all-weather conditions.

The 10-km all weather road from Hayes Camp to the Three Bluffs deposit will allow for safer and more efficient transport of workers and materials to and from the deposit, North Country Gold said.

“All upgrades and new infrastructure focus on minimizing the environmental impacts of our work while improving the health and safety of all those working at the site,” it said.

The Three Bluffs deposit has at least 508,000 ounces of gold, but North Country Gold wants to add to that figure and find more “near-surface open-pittable gold resources,” according to information posted on its website.

The company’s 2012 program will be “equally aggressive,” with the potential for eight to 10 drill rigs targeting over 40,000 metres.

So far, North Country Gold has conducted $47.5 million of exploration within the Committee Bay belt region.

And last year, the company spent about $3.9 million in the North and $2.6 million flowed to Inuit‐owned businesses and hired 14 workers from local communities, numbers which were expected to increase in 2011.

If all goes well, North Country Gold plans to produce a project description submission for 2013.